Family of Man Who Died from COVID After Wife's Workplace Infection Can Sue for Wrongful Death, Second District Holds
California's Second District Court of Appeal held Tuesday that the family of a man who died from COVID-19 after his wife contracted the virus at work can sue her workplace, See's Candies, for wrongful death, holding that the suit isn't preempted by the exclusivity provisions of the state's Workers' Compensation Act (WCA).
Matilde Ek and her three daughters sued See's Candies over the April 2020 death of her husband, Arturo Ek, from COVID-19. According to the lawsuit, Matilde contracted COVID-19 in March 2020 while working on the candy company's packing line and gave the virus to her husband. The suit claims the company did not implement appropriate social distancing measures on that packing line to prevent the spread of the virus.
The lawsuit, filed in December 2020 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleged general negligence, premises liability, and wrongful death.
In the wake of the tragedy at the Houston Astroworld music festival, many people wonder what, if any, legal duty of care should be imposed to protect concert goers? In California, a court of appeal has held that operators of music festivals have a special relationship with its invitees and owe them a duty of care under California Civil Code § 1714 because they depended on the operator to provide medical care and adequate security. Dix v. Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., (2020) 56 Cal.App.5th 590. The Dix opinion was issued a few months before the California Supreme Court’s recent decision in Brown v. USA Taekwondo (2021) 11 Cal. 5th 204, which clarified the analysis used to determine if a defendant has a legal duty to take action to protect a plaintiff from injuries caused by a third party.
To find out if a nursing home or care facility has a history of complaints or citations for faulty care, visit the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) website (https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHCQ/LCP/Pages/HealthCareFacilities.aspx#) or call the state Health Facilities Inspection Division at (800) 228-1019.
To find out if a senior-care facility has been cited for negligence resulting in a patient’s death, visit CDPH's website (https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CHCQ/LCP/Pages/HealthCareFacilities.aspx#) or call the state Health Facilities Inspection Division at (800) 228-1019.
Nursing home quality ratings are posted on the Medicare website (www.medicare.gov/NursingHomeCompare/search.aspx).
To check if a health-care provider is licensed, visit the Medical Board of California's website (www.mbc.ca.gov).
To review the credentials of a doctor, registered or vocational nurse or another medical professional, visit the state Department of Consumer Affairs "License Lookup" website (https://search.dca.ca.gov/).
The credentials of a home-health aide, a certified nurse assistant or others may be checked by visiting the CDPH website (http://cvl.cdph.ca.gov/SearchPage.aspx) or calling (916) 327-2445.
To check out residential elder-care facilities, visit the state Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division website (http://ccld.ca.gov).
To get help or to report abuse, call the Los Angeles County Elder Abuse Hotline at (877) 4-R-SENIORS ((877) 477-3646). You also may report abuse online through the Los Angeles County Adult Protective Services website (https://hsslacountyprod.wellsky.com/assessments/?WebIntake=A6DCB64F-7D31-4B6D-88D6-0A8FA7EA505F).
CA Advocates for Nursing Home Reform http://www.canhr.org/factsheets/nh_fs/html/fs_NH_complaint.htm
PDF how to file a complaint http://www.canhr.org/factsheets/nh_fs/PDFs/FS_NH_Complaint.pdf
Department of Social Services complaints https://www.cdss.ca.gov/reporting/file-a-complaint/ccld-complaints
PDF file elder abuse https://www.cdss.ca.gov/Portals/9/FMUForms/Q-T/SOC341.pdf
APS Resources https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/adult-protective-services
CA Department of Public Health https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Pages/Welcome%20Message.aspx
OC Courts www.occourts.org www.occourts.org/self-help/
OC Health Services www.ochealthinfo.com/services www.ochealthinfo.com/services/clinics
SS Administration www.ssa.ocgov.com/health/other
LA COUNTY lacounty.gov/residents/social-services/seniors-disabled
Los Angeles County Bar Association www.lacba.org
Alliance for Children’s Rights www.kids-alliance.org
ACLU of Southern California www.aclusocal.org/
Bet Tzedek Legal Services www.bettzedek.org
California Women’s Law Center www.cwlc.org
Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law Disability Rights Legal Center www.disabilityrightslegalcenter.org
Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project www.esperanza-la.org
Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law www.hbcfl.org
Immigrant Defenders Law Center www.immdef.org
Inner City Law Center www.innercitylaw.org
Justice in Aging www.justiceinaging.org
Lambda Legal www.lambdalegal.org/
Learning Rights Law Center www.learningrights.org
Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles www.lafla.org
Levitt Quinn Family Law Center levittquinn.org/
Los Angeles Center for Law and Justice www.laclj.org
Mental Health Advocacy Services www.mhas-la.org
National Health Law Program www.healthlaw.org
Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County www.nlsla.org
OneJustice onejustice.org/
Public Counsel www.publiccounsel.org
Wage Justice Center www.wagejustice.org
LA County lacounty.gov/residents/social-services/seniors-disabled
LA COUNTY COURTS http://www.lacourt.org/selfhelp/selfhelp.aspx
Public Law Center www.publiclawcenter.org
The Elder Law and Disability Rights www.eldrcenter.org
Community Legal Aid SoCal www.communitylegalsocal.org
Veterans Legal Institute www.vetslegal.org
Orange County Bar Association www.ocbar.org
CASA Orange County www.casaoc.org
Laura's House www.laurashouse.org
Shanti OC www.shantioc.org
Catholic Charities of Orange County www.catholiccharitiesusa.org
211 OC Resources https://www.211oc.org
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